By: Jayvee G Bungcasan, MMC Intern

Xavier University - McKeough Marine Center (XU-MMC) once again successfully facilitated the Biology and Marine Talk with a topic of “Using Next Generation Sequencing to Better Understand the Philippine Begonia Systematic and Biogeography” last 26 June 2024 at Lecture Space, 5th floor of the New Building, Library. The talk was discussed by Mr Mark Arcibal K Naive, a PhD candidate at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy, who shared his own expertise and experience on the taxonomy and phylogeny of Begonia species in the Philippines.

Mr Naive, the speaker, during his talk.

The speaker began his talk with his fascination on the taxonomic history of plant species, gradually moving the topic as to why Begonia species was chosen among the flowering plants and to the type of method he used in the study. The speaker also tackled his understanding on the taxonomic history of Begonia, which not all the species were studied and analyzed further in the past, leading to inconsistencies of some information on the previously published books on the taxonomy of Begonia species endemic in the Philippines. Moreover, the speaker also shares his hands-on experiences and challenges during the course of this study. The talk ended with an exchange of questions and answers between the speaker and the participants.

Mr Naive, the speaker, together with the participants.

This talk enlightened the participants that research is never easy. However, the journey to gaining deep insights, reaching critical conclusions, and experiencing wonderful interactions with nature is immensely rewarding.